Verda Loch

 

North of the trade way between Azimor and Honeyshield lies a vast area dotted with lakes, and streams snake across the land. Here you will find many a quaint village resting on the shores of one of the many lakes, that is, except for the Verda Loch. 

A gigantic lake used to fill this depression, surrounded by a few small fishing villages. It now lies empty, both the lake and the villages. Many centuries ago a giant sinkhole formed in the center of the loch. The water quickly drained, leaving behind just a sinkhole filled to the brim with water. The villages were quickly abandoned, less for the lack of fishing, and more because of the horrors that started appearing with disturbing frequency. As time went on the extremely fertile land of the former loch became a fast growing, dense woodland. In a strange twisting of nature, the plant life never grew higher than the original lochs surface. This led to the name, Verda Loch. The woodland became home to the Mist Elves, along with all types of monstrous, eldritch beasts, seeming to have sprung from the very nightmares of the lands. 

All but the highest levels of the Verda Loch are almost perpetually shrouded in mist. With the edges being a favored hiding place for all sorts of ambush predators. Because of the dangers of going to close to the Loch, all the roads give a wide berth, with only a few trails leading into the Loch.